If you haven’t listened to or watched the Stone Cold podcast, you are truly missing out on some of the best wrestling-related conversations out there right now. Josh Gibbs gives you a look into the breaking kayfabe dialect of words in pro wrestling.
What I find most interesting is hearing various superstars discuss the business so casually and professionally, without fear of repercussion from the WWE. These men have had their time and cemented their status as legends so they can be open and honest about the good, the bad and the ugly.
You hear terms and phrases that sound like another language to an outsider which is part of what makes pro wrestling feel like a family. Whether you’re a hardcore fan or not, it feels good to know and understand terms that others may not because it provides a sense of belonging.
For plenty of kids growing up, their love of pro wrestling may have caused them to be or feel ostracized from mainstream society, especially if they grew up in the time before the global dominance of the WWE.
For outsiders, listening to veteran wrestlers speak about their craft would be akin to hearing a professional conversation between two brain surgeons. Sure, you can pick up on a good majority of words and phrases but every now and then they throw in things that are completely lost on you simply because you aren’t familiar with that world.
We joke in the military all of the time that we could have entire conversations because of our obsession with acronyms:
EXAMPLE: The AWC put in a RFF to II MEF. The deadline is NLT COB Friday unless the CMC comes back with more RFIs.
TRANSLATION: The ASSISTANT WING COMMANDER put in a REQUEST FOR FORCES to II MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. The deadline is NO LATER THAN CLOSE OF BUSINESS Friday unless the COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS comes back with more REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.
While the WWE doesn’t employ many acronyms in their lingo, the buzzwords and phrases can still be interesting enough. Hopefully you find this list of 10 lesser-known terms interesting. If not, enjoy the lump of coal you’ll be getting in your stocking next Friday.
1.) Go Through: To take a match to its standard time limit of 60 minutes. There is a rarely-mentioned rule that every match has a 60 minute time limit. Before the creation of Iron Man matches which made this rule the main focus, the 60 minute time limit would come into play as a plot device to end matches in a draw. The problem with a match lasting 60 minutes is that not many wrestlers can keep the attention of a large crowd for that length of time. CM Punk had two matches with Samoa Joe that went 60 minutes and one with Christopher Daniels while he was with Ring of Honor. Seth Rollins (known at the time as Tyler Black) and Austin Aries also completed a 60 minute match in 2009 that had no winner.
2.) The Triple H Shovel: Being subjected to awful bookings at the direction of Triple H. Paul Levesque is one of the hardest working men in the WWE. He lives and breathes the pro wrestling business and his unparalleled commitment has played a major part in their global success. He’s also notoriously petty and protective of the business he loves so much. Both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin have been very vocal about their non-kayfabe clashes with Triple H when they first came into the WWE and how he attempted to bury them in terrible matches and angles because he didn’t see them as legitimate superstars and felt their presence would hurt the company.
3.) Five Moves of Doom: A unique set of moves that a wrestler tends to employ in every match that usually ends with their finisher. This term was first used in the 1990s to describe the inevitable comeback of Bret Hart during his matches and is most commonly used today to describe the same comeback displayed by John Cena.
4.) Go-Home: This term is unique because it is used in separate contexts but essentially has the same meaning. The “Go Home” Show is the last RAW/Smackdown before a pay-per-view. It is the final chance to fully establish the card for the event and stoke the most excitement from fans in order to make them tune in. This term is also used in the ring by the performers to tell each other that it’s time to end the match in the pre-determined fashion, usually with a climax of exciting moves or near-falls in order to garner the best reaction from the crowd with the finish.
5.) The Owen Voice: A lower, out-of-character tone used by the announcers to indicate that a serious, non-kayfabe situation has taken place. On rare occasions this tone can be used to sell a worked angle. The term came from the manner in which Jim Ross addressed the television viewers of Over the Edge in 1999 after Owen Hart fell to his death. An hour after the incident, Jim Ross was given the unenviable task of informing the television audience that Hart had passed away at a nearby hospital. The fans in the arena did not hear this announcement:
“Ladies and gentlemen, earlier tonight here in Kansas City, tragedy befell the World Wrestling Federation and all of us. Owen Hart was set to make an entrance from the ceiling, and he fell from the ceiling. I have the unfortunate responsibility to let everyone know that Owen Hart has died. Owen Hart has tragically died from that accident here tonight.”
6.) Wrestler’s Court: An unofficial forum among wrestlers that serves to deal with any perceived or actual violations of rules, customs or traditions. The charges are usually brought forth by other wrestlers and corroborated by either witness statements or testimony. The punishments can range from carrying bags to paying travel expenses. The “judge” in these trials is normally the most senior wrestler (active or retired) on hand at the time of the trial. Matt and Jeff Hardy discussed this non-judicial form of justice in their book Exist 2 Inspire:
“We got to the next house show and Bradshaw told us, ‘You guys have been sentenced to Wrestler’s Court. Your trial is set for next week at Raw.’ Wrestler’s Court is exactly what it sounds like. All the wrestlers gather in the locker room, and they hold a mock trial. Taker is the judge and Bradshaw is the prosecuting attorney. It’s pretty scary, because once you get up there on the stand, everybody’s against you.”
7.) Zamboni: A low-blow that causes actual harm to an opponent. This slip-up occurred more often when inter-gender competition was more common but happen less frequently since WWE halted these match types.
8.) Dusty Finish: The conclusion of a match where the face appears to win a major match (usually a title match) but the decision is reversed due to a technicality or is called due to interference since a title does not usually change hands on such a disqualification. This finish can also be applied to any match that ends in an ambiguous fashion. This type of finish is named after Dusty Rhodes who used this ending many times in both NWA and WCW.
9.) Potato: A strike to the head which makes real contact that could be part of an established work or not. If a wrestler endures several unintended potatoes they are likely to strike back at their opponent, which is known as a ‘receipt’.
10.) Spuds: A slang term used to describe a match with a lot of potatoes. Both Triple H and The Rock admitted to intentionally having matches of this type with each other.
Know any more fun terms or phrases that we won’t hear as often as we should? Tweet me @ChiefJosheola